If you clicked this article thinking that it’s about the importance of maintenance, you’re right. But it’s not the same old lecture about answering calls within 24 hours and addressing tenant needs sooner rather than later. While those are important, this article is about how the maintenance crew can impact your retention efforts.

As a recent Property Management Insider article points out, your leasing staff is likely not the ‘face’ of your property. Technology has made the rental process so automated, there’s very little reason anymore for tenants to stay continually engaged with staff members once the lease is signed. It is, instead, the maintenance team who has become the more visible representation of what the property stands for.

It is imperative, then, to perform due diligence when it comes to choosing the right team to help manage your property’s maintenance needs, ensuring it is aligned with the brand message you want to convey. This means setting the right expectations.

To achieve this, consider the following points to discuss with any maintenance crew before the hiring decision is made:

• Reliability. Consistent, on-time performance is necessary. Staying on a regular schedule enforces the brand’s attention to detail and tells tenants that management takes the property’s condition seriously.
• Appearance. The maintenance crew’s attention to detail should begin with their own appearance. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this isn’t an expectation you should have; quite the contrary. This isn’t a point you will even have to make with the right crew. They are an extension of your brand and should represent it well.
• Communication. This importance of this point cannot be over-emphasized. Communication should flow both ways – between you and the crew, and between the crew and the tenants…and then back to you again. The crew must understand how crucial timely communication is on all maintenance-related items to management, while also relaying any messages or needs they are made aware of from tenants.
• Responsiveness. In the same vein, they must be able to respond to needs in a timely fashion.
• Respect. Disrespect or disregard for tenant feelings and needs cannot be tolerated. It’s important to work with maintenance professionals who understand that the property is home to those tenants; as such, their space, schedules, and needs must be respected as much as those of the management company (i.e., the crew is not just working for the management team).